![]() ![]() My favorite was A Different World, because it featured Black ROTC cadets, something I could relate to. We had a lot of television shows to choose from: Martin, Family Matters, Moesha, Living Single, Fresh Prince, etc. Our childhood felt typical for Black kids in the 90s. I also had my own private stash of $0.25 Herman Wouk novels and overdue sci-fi library books, set in the distant future where Black people were noticeably absent. At home, we had my mom’s collection of Ernest J. While I loved learning about African-American history, I also envied white children with the latest Barbies, Polly Pocket compacts and complete sets of Nancy Drew & Hardy Boy Super Mysteries. Wells, Mary McLeod Bethune and Sojourner Truth along with George Washington Carver, Charles Drew and Benjamin Banneker. The ones that were available focused primarily on historical accounts of slavery and the Civil Rights movement so that was what we read. When I was younger, there weren’t many children’s books with Black protagonists. My parents filled our house with Black dolls, books and pamphlets on African-American scientists, inventors, educators, and activists. We weren’t poor and we weren’t rich.ĭespite living in predominantly white neighborhoods my childhood wasn’t necessarily whitewashed. We spent summers riding bikes, playing outside with friends and soaking up air conditioning at the local library. We lived in safe, leafy, mostly white suburbs outside of military bases. Both of my parents were military officers, but by the time I was born, my mother left the Army to work part-time and raise four kids. I grew up in a Black family in the 90s and early aughts. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |